BREAKING: AL-QAEDA LEADER ANWAR AL-AWLAKI KILLED IN YEMEN ‘FACEBOOK FRIEND FROM HELL’

Posted on | September 30, 2011 | 72 Comments

Apparently a U.S. Predator drone strike:

The U.S.-born terror mastermind Anwar al-Awlaki has been killed, Fox News confirms.
Awlaki was killed with several other suspected al Qaeda operatives, the Yemeni defense ministry said. The statement did not elaborate on the circumstances of Awlaki’s death.
However, tribal sources told AFP that Awlaki was killed in an air strike which hit two vehicles in Marib province, an al Qaeda stronghold in eastern Yemen early Friday.

UPDATE: Notice the legalistic mumbo-jumbo (“terror suspect,” “believed,” “reportedly”) in the CBS News story, as if they are afraid Al-Awlaki might sue for libel:

Yemen: Terror suspect Anwar al-Awlaki killed
Yemen’s Defense Ministry claimed Friday that Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical Islamic preacher believed to be a high-ranking member of al Qaeda’s franchise in the region, has been killed.
Al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen born in New Mexico, has been linked to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s (AQAP) attempted bombing of a U.S. passenger jet over Detroit on Christmas day, 2009, and is thought to be a leader of the group.
U.S. officials consider him a most-wanted terror suspect, and added his name last year to the kill or capture list – making him a rare American addition to what is effectively a U.S. government hit-list. . . .
Al-Awlaki is believed to be a prominent member in the group, taking a role in the planning of actual terror plots, in addition to his role as a religious adviser and counselor to other members.
He reportedly met directly with Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the 19-year-old Nigerian who attempted to blow up the flight to Detroit in 2009, when the young man traveled for training to Yemen.
Al-Awlaki’s voluminous online preaching, in both video and print form, is also thought to have inspired Ft. Hood shooter Nidal Hasan, who made email contact with the preacher before carrying out his attack

Look, I understand that a news organization isn’t supposed to be uncritically publishing government press releases, but there is such a thing as being “notorious,” and Al-Awlaki’s role in al-Qaeda was notorious.

UPDATE II: In July, K-Lo at NRO interviewed Fox News national security correspondent Catherine Herridge, who had this to say:

Anwar al-Awlaki is the leader of al-Qaeda 2.0. The New Mexico–born cleric is a digital jihadist who uses our technology against us to spread his message of hate. He is the Facebook friend from hell.
Most Americans don’t realize that al-Awlaki, the first American on the CIA’s kill-or-capture list, was held in federal custody in October 2002 until an FBI agent ordered his release even though there was an active warrant for his arrest.
Awlaki developed an online e-mail relationship with the accused shooter at Fort Hood, Maj. Nidal Hasan, and many others. Think how history would be different for the Fort Hood families if Awlaki had been prosecuted in 2002?
Despite calls from Capitol Hill, the FBI has refused to explain how the cleric slipped through the bureau’s grasp. I believe it could be the biggest law-enforcement failure since 9/11.

UPDATE III: “Religion of peace“:

When he was imam of a San Diego mosque in the 1990s, his sermons were attended by two future 9/11 hijackers, Khalid al-Midhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi.
He also lived in the UK from 2002-04, where he spent several months giving lectures to Muslim youth.
In a video posted in November last year he called for the killing of Americans, saying they were from the “party of devils”.

And this guy was born in New Mexico, a U.S. citizen.

UPDATE IV: A brief Associated Press video report:

UPDATE V: No fewer than four reporters — in Yemen, London and Washington — contributed to this story in The New York Times:

SANA, Yemen — In a significant and dramatic strike in the campaign against Al Qaeda, the Defense Ministry here said American-born preacher Anwar al-Awlaki, a leading figure in the group’s outpost in Yemen, was killed on Friday morning. In Washington a senior official said Mr. Awlaki had been killed in an American attack by an unpiloted drone firing a Hellfire missile.
Mr. Awlaki’s Internet lectures and sermons have been linked to more than a dozen terrorist investigations in the United States, Britain and Canada. Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan had exchanged e-mails with Mr. Awlaki before the deadly shooting rampage on Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009. Faisal Shahzad, who tried to set off a car bomb in Times Square in May, 2010, cited Mr. Awlaki as an inspiration.

Notice that Awlaki is described as a “preacher,” not an “imam” or “cleric.” As of 8 a.m., the online version of this NYT story is 1,265 words and it is not until the 24th paragraph that we discover what religion Awlaki preached:

Mr. Awlaki has been linked to numerous plots against the United States, including the botched underwear bombing. He has taken to the Internet with stirring battle cries directed at young American Muslims. “Many of your scholars,” Mr. Awlaki warned last year, are “standing between you and your duty of jihad.”

As an amusing side-note, the Internet now enables the Times to get stories wrong in real-time:

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: September 30, 2011
An earlier version of this article said that Yemeni forces had carried out the attack. The circumstances of the operation remain unclear.

All the (wrong) news that’s fit to print!

UPDATE VI: “They Told Glenn Reynolds …”

Category: Terrorism, Yemen

Comments

72 Responses to “BREAKING: AL-QAEDA LEADER ANWAR AL-AWLAKI KILLED IN YEMEN ‘FACEBOOK FRIEND FROM HELL’”

Cartoon of the dayD « Don Surber
September 30th, 2011 @ 7:05 am

[…] The Other McCain. CommentsPowered by Facebook Comments […]
Donald Douglas
September 30th, 2011 @ 11:08 am

Linked: ‘Anwar al-Awlaki Killed in Yemen (VIDEO)’.
BigGator5
September 30th, 2011 @ 11:15 am

Couldn’t have happen to a nicer guy.
Anonymous
September 30th, 2011 @ 11:24 am

Al Qaeda is a distraction to BO. He wants to clear the decks so he can continue to destroy America himself.
Steve in TN
September 30th, 2011 @ 11:25 am

Bomb his remains again.

Just to be sure.
Beto Ochoa
September 30th, 2011 @ 11:36 am

Was Obama in the Situation Room watching in real time?
Did Hillary cover her mouth because she just threw up in it a little?
Will they throw his remains into the ocean to fulfill Islamic Law?
Anonymous
September 30th, 2011 @ 11:44 am

Note to self: remember Obama unfriends you with a Hellfire missile.

J.
Anwar al-Awlaki Killed in Yemen « The Mad Jewess With Breaking News By Donna Spellbound
September 30th, 2011 @ 7:51 am

[…] Via The Other McCain: […]
Bob Belvedere
September 30th, 2011 @ 11:56 am

Glad they got him. He looks like the guy on my staff I despise the most, but can’t fire [I work for the gummit, don’t ya know].
Dave
September 30th, 2011 @ 12:02 pm

Y’know, I’m torn. I’m very much a supporter of TWOT. We ARE in a war, and we need to act like it, and we should be actively killing our enemies every day. Al-Awlaki’s certainly been asking for it by his actions, I’m not shedding a tear for him, and were I to come across his grave I’m sure that my bladder would all of a sudden need to be emptied right now.

But……

The United States of America just executed one of it’s own citizens in cold blood without any sort of due process or trial. Does that bother anyone else?
Charles G Hill
September 30th, 2011 @ 12:49 pm

That depends. If they’re going to take out Congressmen, I’d say go for it.
JeffS
September 30th, 2011 @ 12:53 pm

It does bother me. It’s certainly a slippery slope.

OTOH, Al-Awlaki would cheerfully butcher thousands of his “felllow” Americans, not to mention any other infidels.

So, in this case, it’s worth it. YMMV.
Thomas Knapp
September 30th, 2011 @ 1:02 pm

Yup.

“TWoT” has been going on for ten years and change now.

If Congress felt like declaring war, it’s had more than ample time to do so, and has not only declined to do so, but has said multiple times, in no uncertain terms, that it is not doing so (e.g. “reservation of war powers” for the Iraq invasion).

Absent that declaration of war, the United States is not in any legal sense at war, and killing al-Awliki by presidential decree was just plain vanilla murder.
Joe
September 30th, 2011 @ 1:11 pm

Notice that Awlaki is described as a “preacher,” not an “imam” or “cleric.” As of 8 a.m., the online version of this NYT story is 1,265 words and it is not until the 24th paragraph that we discover what religion Awlaki preached…

But there was a photograph. So when you see simple clothes, the beard, you just have to conclude…either Amish or Orthodox Jew. The Amish are Christainists, but they are green–so by elimiantion, Team Obama is going to declare war on Orthodox Judaism. Payback for losing Weiner’s seat.

Priorities.
Anonymous
September 30th, 2011 @ 1:19 pm

It’s ironic: these guys are always trying to purchase fertilizer and now Al-Awlaki has become fertilizer.
American Terrorist Killed in Yemen | The Lonely Conservative
September 30th, 2011 @ 9:21 am

[…] work with Yemeni counterparts to track and find al Qaeda elements in the country. (read more)The Other McCain notes that it took The New York Times until the 24th paragraph to mention what religion Awlaki […]
Anonymous
September 30th, 2011 @ 1:22 pm

Obama threw Al-Awlaki under the [com]bus[tion].
Andreas Moser
September 30th, 2011 @ 1:24 pm

My first reaction was one of rejoicing. But then I had the same doubts about rejoicing someone’s death as I had when Osama bin Laden was killed: http://andreasmoser.wordpress.com/2011/05/03/celebrating-death-of-bin-laden/
Anonymous
September 30th, 2011 @ 1:28 pm

I don’t rejoice Al-Awlaki’s death. I rejoice that, in his current physical condition (or configuration), he can no longer facilitate mass murder.
Stephen Nelson
September 30th, 2011 @ 1:29 pm

Well, let’s see: considering that he’s committed treason in front of 300 million witnesses? Nope, not a single qualm.
McGehee
September 30th, 2011 @ 1:37 pm

My first reaction was, “Next…?”
Zilla of the Resistance
September 30th, 2011 @ 1:45 pm

The penalty for treason is death. I’d be perfectly happy to see the Fort Hood jihadi asshole killed too and every other jihadi POS who decides to kill Americans for al & mo. Kill them ALL let allah sort them out!
Anonymous
September 30th, 2011 @ 1:46 pm

McGehee, if you are named the target-picker Czar, then I’m fully on board. “Next, next, next, next, and then some!”

But someday the next targets might be selected by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Zilla of the Resistance
September 30th, 2011 @ 1:47 pm

Every jihadi should meet such an end, including the treasonous ‘American Taliban’ John Walker Lindh, remember him? He should have been hung.
Bob Belvedere
September 30th, 2011 @ 1:50 pm

Well, I do rejoice in that evil bastard’s death.

What is most disappointing to me about the aftermath of the deaths of him, Bin Laden, et. al. is that we no longer believe in putting our enemies heads on pikes at the capital city gates as a warning.
Reacting To Anwar Al-Awlaki’s Death « The Camp Of The Saints
September 30th, 2011 @ 10:12 am

[…] Stacy McCain has the details here. […]
Anwar al-Awlaki Killed in Yemen - ScrollPost.com
September 30th, 2011 @ 10:21 am

[…] post feedproxy.google.com – (No Ratings Yet) Loading … The Other McCain reports, “BREAKING: AL-QAEDA LEADER ANWAR AL-AWLAKI KILLED IN YEMEN — ‘FACEBOOK FRIEND FROM HELL’.”Also at Jawa Report, “Anwar al-Awlaki Killed in Yemen.” (Via Memeorandum.) And […]
ThePaganTemple
September 30th, 2011 @ 2:28 pm

You don’t wait for a declaration of war when you’re under attack, you take action. Remember, al-Awlaki was the instigator of the Fort Hood attacks, and he was an operational leader of Al-Queda in Yemen, which means he was planning and ordering attacks on an on-going basis. Also, Al-Queda is not a country with a defined border or a recognized government. If we have a right to treat them as a law-enforcement problem, as most of the left claims ( for now) that we do, then we have just as much of a right to bomb the hell out of them, or to do anything else it takes to put them in the ground.
ThePaganTemple
September 30th, 2011 @ 2:31 pm

Nope. Does it bother you when a cop takes out one or more gunmen who are conducting a robbery and holding innocent citizens hostage and threatening their lives? If not, why they hell should this bother you?
ThePaganTemple
September 30th, 2011 @ 2:35 pm

Yeah, I think I figured out where you’re coming from as soon as I saw every mention of Bin Laden’s name in your post written as “Mr Bin Laden”. I think I see all too damn clear where you’re coming from, in fact.
ThePaganTemple
September 30th, 2011 @ 2:37 pm

If for no other reason than sullying the name of a great Scotch.
ThePaganTemple
September 30th, 2011 @ 2:38 pm

My first reaction was, “one more down, maybe three or four hundred million to go.”
ThePaganTemple
September 30th, 2011 @ 2:54 pm

Also killed, turns out, was another Al-Queda-in-Yemen big-wig. I have already forgotten his name, but he’s the guy who published Inspire Magazine, a magazine dedicated to Islamic radicals and jihad.
Dave
September 30th, 2011 @ 2:58 pm

Because we on the right are supposed to have as one of the bedrock principles of our beliefs the rule of law, and I think there is a strong argument to make here that this execution was extralegal. It doesn’t bother me that he’s dead, there are few people who deserve it more. If he’d been engaged in a firefight with our troops and gotten it in the neck, yippie, but he wasn’t. Being a citizen is supposed to mean something. Foreign nationals engaged in war against our country? Blow them away. Foreign terrorist training camps, or cells, or whatever? Same thing. But, whoever despicable and repugnant he was, he was a citizen, which I think changes how he must be treated, not for him, but for us. I don’t mourn his death, far from it, but how many times can expediency trump the rule of law before the later is rendered meaningless? This is perhaps the best example of when expediency should take precedent, but I don’t trust the government (under any administration, R or D) once that wall is breached not to breach it again and again, until it’s meaningless.

We’re in a war against a non-traditional enemy (not a nation state), and the rules for a war like that are being made up as we go along (good Lord, I’m channeling Alcee Hastings). This one bothers me, not because of this particular incident, but because we’ve stepped across a hard, black line. Maybe, hopefully, we’ll step back and this’ll be a one time extraordinary circumstance. But what if we don’t?
Zilla of the Resistance
September 30th, 2011 @ 3:03 pm

Yeah, that too! Bastard.
Anonymous
September 30th, 2011 @ 3:11 pm

ThePaganTemple has a point, though. Even if we evaluate this action strictly within the framework of (domestic) rules-of-law and law enforcement, one can make a strong case that the action was legally justified.

For example, when an assailant is holding hostages and police snipers have a clean shot, they are legally justified to eliminate the treat against innocent persons.

In this case, Al-Awlaki was not treatening Americans at the precise moment he (the threat) was eliminated, per se, but because of the nature of international terrorism, he might be deemed a permanent threat of sorts; possibly the only opportunity to avert future threats against innocent Americans was to take him out right then.
Thomas Knapp
September 30th, 2011 @ 3:41 pm

“You don’t wait for a declaration of war when you’re under attack”

That’s not at issue.

It’s been 10 years since 9/11. Congress has had that entire time to declare war. on any nation-state or other entity it wanted the US to go to war with.

It’s been nearly two years since the Fort Hood attack. The entire US government didn’t get out of bed yesterday morning and say “oh, shit, we just now heard there’s this guy in Yemen … we better get on this ASAP, there’s no time to take the formal steps to do it under the rubric of a legally declared war.”

If you’re comfortable with the president’s claim of an unrestrained power to order the killing of anyone he wants killed, fine, just say so. But don’t try to put lipstick on that pig.
Omal2006
September 30th, 2011 @ 3:48 pm

No. It did not happen in this country and was living in a place whre the U.S. Constitution has no meaning. Extra-legal action of that sort does not offend me or the constitution. Do you think he considered himself a citizen?
ThePaganTemple
September 30th, 2011 @ 4:21 pm

I’m fine with it. It’s about time the asshole did something right. It’s not just about 9/11 either, you say that like 9/11 was a one time thing and we haven’t had any problems since then. We’ve had other attacks, including the Fort Hood shooter and the “Underwear Bomber” both of whom were aligned with this guy. If al-Awlaki had been in the US, I’m sure the first option would have been to arrest him, to take him alive if possible. But he wasn’t here, he was in Yemen, which means it wasn’t quite that simple. We couldn’t just send a few guys out there with a warrant and take him in.
ThePaganTemple
September 30th, 2011 @ 4:21 pm

I’m fine with it. It’s about time the asshole did something right. It’s not just about 9/11 either, you say that like 9/11 was a one time thing and we haven’t had any problems since then. We’ve had other attacks, including the Fort Hood shooter and the “Underwear Bomber” both of whom were aligned with this guy. If al-Awlaki had been in the US, I’m sure the first option would have been to arrest him, to take him alive if possible. But he wasn’t here, he was in Yemen, which means it wasn’t quite that simple. We couldn’t just send a few guys out there with a warrant and take him in.
ThePaganTemple
September 30th, 2011 @ 4:24 pm

You said it in the first sentence of your last paragraph. We are in a war, and he aligned with the enemy. He did so openly and unabashedly. As such, the fact that he’s a citizen is irrelevant.
ThePaganTemple
September 30th, 2011 @ 4:24 pm

You said it in the first sentence of your last paragraph. We are in a war, and he aligned with the enemy. He did so openly and unabashedly. As such, the fact that he’s a citizen is irrelevant.
Anonymous
September 30th, 2011 @ 4:28 pm

The fact that Democrats have that power does give one pause.
Anonymous
September 30th, 2011 @ 4:28 pm

The fact that Democrats have that power does give one pause.
Datechguy's Blog » Blog Archive » Anwar al-Awlaki dead, Greg Greenwald and the left hardest hit.
September 30th, 2011 @ 12:31 pm

[…] about it, Andrew Sullivan has a clearer view of the situation than the MSM does. You don’t get much worse than […]
Anonymous
September 30th, 2011 @ 4:32 pm

Your point is well taken, unfortunately Political Correctness prevents us from formally declaring war on Islamic Jihad.
Anonymous
September 30th, 2011 @ 4:32 pm

Your point is well taken, unfortunately Political Correctness prevents us from formally declaring war on Islamic Jihad.
Anonymous
September 30th, 2011 @ 4:35 pm

Why was he still a citizen?
Anonymous
September 30th, 2011 @ 4:35 pm

Why was he still a citizen?
Anonymous
September 30th, 2011 @ 4:40 pm

The Southern Poverty Law Center is a progressive supremacist group. The fact that their reports and other rantings are given any weight is disturbing.